X, formerly known as Twitter, has filed a lawsuit against India’s IT Ministry, accusing it of unlawfully expanding censorship powers that make it easier to remove online content. The legal action marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between X and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over internet censorship.
The lawsuit, filed on March 5, challenges the IT Ministry’s directive, which allegedly allows various government departments to use a government platform for issuing content-blocking orders. X argues that this platform, launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, bypasses legal safeguards and enables unchecked censorship, diminishing oversight from top officials.
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X claims the system undermines the existing laws that require content removal to be justified by reasons such as protecting national sovereignty or maintaining public order. The company is seeking to overturn the directive in court.
The case, currently before the High Court of Karnataka, is set to continue on March 27, after an initial hearing earlier this week. This follows previous clashes between X and the Indian government, including a high-profile stand-off in 2021 over content related to the farmers’ protests.
